Domo Arigato Mister Roboto
Season Fourteen, Episode Three Preceded By: Season Fourteen, Episode Two: Solo Missions Are a Privilege Followed By: Season Fourteen, Episode Four: Curse Your Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal Introducing: Felix Fineas Faust Summary : Okay, now the party really has to get moving. One of the demons got away, which means that people know they're in Benin Falls now. They have a quick discussion of what to do. They need a new place to hide out; Icania offers his parents' protection, which seems like a better idea than heading into the Ornan Jungle after Ashra's mom or trusting Tobo to keep quiet about their presence in Port Brogan. However, Ashra wants to meet with Albert Greenwood before the party departs, in case he has information they can use. :Ashra says anyone who wants to come along can do so; Cicero and Tamiko stay with the ship, while the rest of the party decides to go into town. Ashra disguises herself as an aasimar and the party heads out. : They are met at the edge of town by a pair of elf druids. They are clearly shaken, and ask to Detect Evil on the party since they're searching for the demons that burned down one of the outbuildings earlier today. The party agrees; none of them are evil, so they pass without incident. : Both of the bars are still standing, and a mob with torches is going from house to house, searching for the demon. The adventurer's bar is full of water traders. Ashra listens to the mob and hears a lot of ill-informed rubbish about demons; the mob is especially concerned that the demon might have taken on the shape of someone they know. Ashra looks around with True Seeing. Icania is pretty odd, a creature of runes and negative energy, but no one is a demon. : The party decides to go check out the Rock Rock Rock. It has clearly been the site of a battle not too long ago. Furniture has been turned over and destroyed, a keg is still leaking beer, and some of the area has been scorched. It doesn't look like anything has been searched or taken. Ashra finds no additional consciousnesses on the first floor, but can't quite catch the upstairs. The logs in the fireplace are frozen solid, dripping in the heat. Nothing is hidden in the chimney, but it is oddly clean. Leilah suggests that someone may have Wind Walked up or down it. : While the party is searching, the chandelier crashes down behind them. Someone checks behind the bar and finds that the crossbow and its hooks are gone, but that a hidden longsword remains. It hasn't been touched in months. He also notices that there are five kegs of beer, but six spouts. The sixth spout is labeled in Dwarven, but it doesn't appear to be a word. : Icania leans against a wall and an alarm triggers. The fire lights up, the logs letting off wet black smoke. The party panics and douses the fire quickly, hoping the smoke is nothing unnatural. : Icania, Leilah, and Galland decide to go up the stairs, leaving Ashra to guard the first floor. Icania is the first up and also the heaviest, and one of the stairs collapses under him, sending him careening into the basement. He takes only minor injuries and decides to explore. There are wine racks and kegs of beer. He can hear whimpering off in the corner. : The whimpering comes from a terrified young elf girl. She freezes with fear when she sees Icania. : Leilah has joined him in the basement by now. She greets the girl. Her chicken pops up over her shoulder and clucks reassuringly. The girl eventually calms down enough to speak. She says that there was a fight, but she didn't see much of it. There was a priest, then purple smoke, things started crashing around, the bartender pulled out his crossbow, and she fled to the basement. She remembers that the priest was wearing an ancient symbol of Cuthbert. : Leilah gets the girl's name and address, heals her, then sends her on her way. The girl recognizes Leilah and thanks her. : All of the bottles in the basement are empty. One is sealed with a small ship in it, and has strong abjuration magic. This might be a black market stash of arcane goods. However, the party really doesn't want to waste precious time following it up, so they pocket the ship in a bottle and move on. : Icania runs up to the second floor and kicks down the door. The room is completely empty, the symbol of Furcas gone. The other rooms appear normal. The empty room smells of citrus. There's a very thin layer of something on the wall. Working together, the party manages to outline its borders with a grease pencil; there are clear lines, but it's not obvious what purpose it served. Ashra examines the substance and says it also contains lactose. : It's very cold. Leilah opens a window. The party heads back down. : Icania pulls the extra tap. The bar reveals a secret cabinet where the bartender is curled up, hiding, crossbow in hand. He asks after the girl, Simia, and says that there was a battle between a priest of Cuthbert and two big shadowy black things in rags. Leilah identifies these as wraiths. : The party takes their leave. The mob is still searching houses, but doesn't appear to have found anything. Two warriors stop the party, recognize Leilah, and wish them on their way. : Back at Benin Falls, Cicero has accidentally hired a gnome. This wizard had appeared to Cicero and offered his magical services, which Cicero had taken as an offer to prostitute himself. Leilah and Ashra look at each other, say that they'd rather have a wizard than a prostitute, and welcome Felix Fineas Faust to the company. Faust has a fffamiliar, a spellstoring dagger, and a distant relationship to Sluf. : A pair of aasimars in inquisition robes scry on the party. The scry disconnects. : Icania has made himself his own speakstone, and uses it to call his father. His father says he's welcome to come back to Goneril and seek shelter, and that he should call his mother as soon as he reaches the Strand of Orc. : The party gives their thanks to Anahita and Hannibal Maloch. Tamiko says that Anahita makes a mean casserole. The Thought takes off. : Faust can cast Magnificent Mansion, so the journey is much more pleasant than before. After about a day and a half of smooth flying, Ashra notices a small black triangle in the sky behind the ship. It appears to be following the party, and on closer examination is an ornithopter with black sails. : Tamiko looks at it in her mirror, which whispers "Searchers..." : The ornithopter disappears. Icania searches the outside of the ship and finds it attached there. He pulls it up and disables it by removing its wing. It's not magical, but it is very well made, and would require immense strength to use. It has a gear on it, the seal of a Defender of Mechanus. These are intelligent planar constructs like miniature Inevitables. Sort of Highly Likelies. : The party confirms that they can cast Dimensional Anchor near the elemental without repercussions. Ashra covers the ship with a cast of Eradicate Invisibility. : There is a giant mechanical person covered in huge armor chilling out on the deck, and it isn't Icania. The Defender of Mechanus does not move. : Icania strikes it, actually dealing it damage. "Why did you do that?" it asks. Galland's attack bounces off, while Reon's gets through. It starts to move for its wing. Cicero disintegrates the wing. "How dare you flee the moon?" asks the defender. Tamiko's mirror whispers "It hunts for the stone." : Tamiko starts talking to the Defender and successfully convinces it that the party are not binders, that they'd like to get the Baetyl back just as much as it would, and that they have a common enemy. It agrees to stay a little longer in exchange for a new wing. Icania can't get a response out of it, but creates a new wing for the glider. It won't exchange information the way Ashra wants, and she's not sure how much to tell it. It doesn't seem to understand reporting to its superiors that they aren't dangerous. They do get a name out of the Defender -- her name is Tamosa 9, and she is female. : Icania returns the now functional glider, and Tamosa flies away. : Leilah decides to test if the Gate spell works the way she learned in school. She creates a gate to the Positive Energy Plane in midair, flies down to it, and walks through. She's all right, though her chicken is stunned with joy. From the other side, she can still see the gate back to the Prime. She picks up her blissed out chicken, walks back through the gate, and returns to the ship. : Four days pass. Ashra's Remote View Trap repeatedly triggers. Icania thinks he sees a well dressed half-elf with pale eyes on a big black ship (scrying on him?), but doesn't mention that this description sounds an awful lot like his dad. : Five more days pass. The party does some quick Malvont shopping. They pass Baldur. Two more days pass. They pass a large balloon-type airship, but it isn't the Jade Kracken III. The party reaches the Strand of Orc three days and five hours early thanks to strategic use of the Turbo button. They land on a small patch of the Mudvayne Flats, about a hundred miles north of Goneril City. : Icania calls his mother. She asks if he has been chased by undead, and is surprised that he says no. She asks about Nesferati, and he says yes. She says that his father is preparing him a safe haven north of Goneril City in an old tower Ashra recognizes that she probably means The Deep Tower. He says they'll be right over, and hangs up. : Leilah casts Discern Location and looks for Greenwood. She finds him in a Port Nyasa noodle joint. : The party heads for The Deep Tower. It's pretty boring, without obvious doors at ground level. There is a small balloon type ship parked nearby, The Goneril State Ship Three Digits. Icania calls his father, who says they can either dock the ship in a hollow nearby or pull right up to the tower and walk onboard. : They opt for the latter option. : And they have no idea what a bad idea that is. Category:Episodes Category:Season Fourteen Episodes